We've lost a laying henny penny. Where could she be?

[counterWULF]

On Monday I added two roosts and four new nesting boxes to their coop. We have 17 hens, a rooster, and seven of the hens are currently laying. They were all born around May 31st of this year, so about seven months old each. We were helping each of the layers understand that these are their new nesting boxes yesterday and two of them figured it out and laid eggs. We're getting on average four eggs a day from the seven. It's been hovering right around freezing/below freezing lately.

Anyways, while sitting out on guard with the chickens (see my previous thread) one of the layers decided to go investigate under the shed. It sits about a foot and half off the ground and the underneath is used to store old stuff. We're renting this house, so none of the "stuff" belongs to us. Just some random bricks, cinder blocks, tomato cages, etc. Yesterday was the first day that any of the chickens ever decided to go explore under there. Salome the hen, or Sail for short, would go under and come back out, then go under again. None of the others followed.

At some point, we realized she was gone and we couldn't find her. We spent all evening and night looking for her. I went out first thing this morning looking again. I even took our rooster out with me as he was cock-a-doodle-doing and I had hoped she would be able to hear this wherever she was and come back to us. Last night I crawled in as deep as I could looking for her, or a pile of feathers, or a body. Nothing. I don't see any holes or places to escape, get lost, or hide. The only animals we've seen go under the shed are a groundhog, rabbits, and a very large toad. We have mice and a rat around the area too that could go under there. Would any of these animals kill a chicken? And where would her body be?

We'll keep looking. My oldest (13) daughter is in tears. Sail was her chicken that she's raised from 1-2 days old. Until we find her, or proof of her, I can't let my dogs out in the yard off leash. I don't want them to find her, dead or alive. If she's alive, they'll surely kill her, and they've gone under this same shed before so they can fit and would find her. I'll assume in a few days we can count on her being gone for good and then the dogs can roam off leash again. This really complicates things, having to leash four big dogs each time they need to go potty. We'll do what we have to with the dogs. The important thing is finding Sail. We are all very upset about this.

I just posted my first thread about doing all we can to keep the entire flock safe and alive, so this is devastating us all. We had human presence out there all day yesterday with them to help keep predators away, but this might not even be a case of predation. It could just be an adventurous chicken who gets lost on the journey, and we need to help her find her way back home.

If anyone has ideas or similar stories where their chickens disappeared and magically reappeared alive days later, please share to give us some hope! Thank you.

 

[aart]

There's a chance.
Have read many stories of 'missing' birds coming back....
....some after 21 days of setting a clutch.

Hard to 'help' birds get used to changes in coop, most don't like change at all.
Usually just takes time, sometimes confinement is the fastest way as free rangers have easily accessed 'other options'.

 

[counterWULF]

There's a chance.
Have read many stories of 'missing' birds coming back....
....some after 21 days of setting a clutch.

Hard to 'help' birds get used to changes in coop, most don't like change at all.
Usually just takes time, sometimes confinement is the fastest way as free rangers have easily accessed 'other options'.

That's what I was thinking too. She couldn't find her old nesting box so she went exploring to find a new place to lay her egg, then never returned. I was hoping some of the other hens would figure it out and lead by example. Ironically, our first two laying hens, with a little assistance, realized these new boxes were for them, and they laid eggs. I wanted this to catch on like wildfire. I believe she might have already been "lost" as the others laid their eggs.

We'll cross our fingers and keep searching. I don't even hear her. Usually if a chicken is separated from her flock, you can still hear them making their peeps and noises and can help guide them back with everyone else. This hen must be so deep down the rabbit hole that I don't even hear a slight peep. I'm listening for any crunching leaves in the forest around our home...nothing. No sounds. Where oh where could she have gone?!?...

 

[50-45-1]

Placing fake eggs or i use golf balls in new nests helps the hens to feel safe to lay eggs in new place.
Your hen might have gone broody and hold up under the coop amongst the clutter. I would pull everything out from under there and make sure. You may want to enclose it with wire to keep the chickens from going under there, laying eggs that will likely eventually rot or draw preditors. If she is outside broody she is vunerable to not only your dogs but racoons, weasel, opossum and more.
If she is broody she will still dart to the coop for food and water every day or so, and will be very vocal when she does so. Keep your eye out for that. If you sight her, observe and follow when she goes back to ber nest.
I hope you find her today! Good luck.

 

[red horse ranch]

I found a hen this spring wedged in between 2 bales of hay. Last year I found a hen wedged inside a roll of fencing. They got into a bad spot but couldn't get back out. Both hens were dead by the time I found them...
The only thing you can do is keep looking. A hen can get into some pretty tight spots.

p.s. there's no way I would keep a chicken killing dog around. Eventually one of them WILL KILL your chickens. Out here we shoot, shovel, and shut up!

 

[aart]

I don't even hear her. Usually if a chicken is separated from her flock, you can still hear them making their peeps and noises and can help guide them back with everyone else.

She may have had a non-fatal encounter and is hiding and staying quiet.
Hopefully you figure out what happened, good or bad, just for the closure.

 

[proudmommie31]

Did you look high? I've had a few go missing, I turned the yard upside down, thought they were lost for good only to find them sky high in a tree .

 

[counterWULF]

Placing fake eggs or i use golf balls in new nests helps the hens to feel safe to lay eggs in new place.
Your hen might have gone broody and hold up under the coop amongst the clutter. I would pull everything out from under there and make sure. You may want to enclose it with wire to keep the chickens from going under there, laying eggs that will likely eventually rot or draw preditors. If she is outside broody she is vunerable to not only your dogs but racoons, weasel, opossum and more.
If she is broody she will still dart to the coop for food and water every day or so, and will be very vocal when she does so. Keep your eye out for that. If you sight her, observe and follow when she goes back to ber nest.
I hope you find her today! Good luck.

Thank you. We'll keep looking. I'm about the unleash the entire flock, so I'm hoping they can find her, she can find them, or at least she can hear them and start her way back home. We sit out there with them the entire time they are out to help watch them, as we have hawks, owls, and bald eagles flying overhead, plus bears, coyotes, opossum, and red fox in our yard. If she's out there and still alive, hopefully we'll find her before it is too late.

 

[Melky]

I would look calling to her in nearby woods or brush with favorite treat shaking in a cup. Mine occasionally will wander off into woods near my property but come back when I call them. Now I am out with them all the time to keep them from wandering off especially since they are new layers. Mine have only done this couple times and never overnight. She also could be hoarding a clutch somewhere. Look all along your property perimeter. Mine stay in coop/fenced run until laying for the day is over so they don’t wander off and lay eggs anywhere else.

 

[counterWULF]

I found a hen this spring wedged in between 2 bales of hay. Last year I found a hen wedged inside a roll of fencing. They got into a bad spot but couldn't get back out. Both hens were dead by the time I found them...
The only thing you can do is keep looking. A hen can get into some pretty tight spots.

p.s. there's no way I would keep a chicken killing dog around. Eventually one of them WILL KILL your chickens. Out here we shoot, shovel, and shut up!

This is what I'm worried about too. She got herself into something that she can't get out of. If she is alive and not in too deep, I figured I would hear her. Anytime we're around the chickens, they make their noises. I don't hear anything anywhere from her. She might be dead. She might've found a way deeper under the house where only she can go and too far for me to hear her peeps. I'll keep looking and waiting for her return. I told my daughter this morning that if she's gone, I'll buy her another Ameraucana pullet to raise.

We have two German Shepherds (search & rescue - retired) and two Siberian Huskies (trained sled dogs). I'll be honest, my dogs are far more important to me than our chickens, though I'll do everything I can to keep everyone safe and alive. We've had these dogs for 10 years. When the chickens are free ranging, the dogs only come out on leashes nowhere near the chicks. When the dogs are off leash, the chickens are locked in their coop. Our one husky has extremely high prey drive. He's caught birds out of the sky when he was younger. The shepherds have never killed anything (yet!).

Funny you mention the three S's. I study wolves and know all about SSS. We used to live in Idaho before I retired from the military. If anything comes onto my property to harm my kids, dogs, or chickens, it will have to get through me first. As much as I appreciate wildlife (I'm working on my wildlife biology/sciences degree), my beloved and invested family and farm animals take precedence over any "strangers."